Environmental Impact
1. A plastic bottle is discarded into the environment
2. The bottle is picked by a collector and taken to an aggregation site where they receive immediate payment.
3. The bottle gets sorted and sent to production
4. Production follows European and North American quality standards.
5. High quality RPET raw material is produced.
6. Raw material gets used in high end industry application instead of plastic made from petrochemicals.
7. As a result, the bottle is recycled and prevented from making it’s way to the environment / ocean / landfill.
Social Impact
The Story of Bottle Micro Entrepreneurs
1. A family in poverty considers their immediate options to earn money.
2. They organise to collect bottles and receive immediate payment for their efforts
3. The family purchases larger collection sacks and eventually save up for a flatbed truck.
4. They install a cage on the flatbed truck and begin organised operations.
5. Over time, they are able to save money for a space for their own aggregation site.
6. After opening multiple sites, the family buys machinery and becomes a factory level recycler.
7. Opportunity is created to either meet basic needs or develop a small business.
Industrial Impact
Industry requires reliable quality that meets demand consistently in large volumes. Beyond this, there are still many business needs to provide a competitive product offering. These, among many other requirements include:
Full traceability – Regulation compliance – Packaging – Price – ‘Just in time’ logistics
When these needs are met, real planning and investment can be made and drive the growth of the recycling industry. This drives collection efforts, substantially creating real world social and environmental benefits. Without this cycle of industry demand and economic incentive, recycling activities in developing countries do not happen.